[email protected] wrote: > Is this a "free" site, or must one pay? > You have to pay. It is a very useful site, though.

Hello All, I have joined the list as I am attempting to help an old friiend in Canada.I will post details later .....mean while if there is a lister who has an interest in the name Hedden I would be delighted to hear from them. Best regards,Kevin. Kevin McCormack, Co Cork, Ireland

South Ronaldsay / Burray researchers- Two more contributors, connected to the surnames listed in the subject line above, have kindly sent along photographs to SouthRonaldsay.net this week. Their contributions have had the extra bonus of me being able to hook them up with cousins they hadn't know existed as yet! A UK cousin "meets" a Boston, USA, cousin... an Australian cousin "meets" another Australian cousin... maybe you, too, are their cousins! Click the link on below page for the latest Contributors' photos: < http://www.southronaldsay.net/1821/notes/sr~photolist_contributors.html > Best Wishes, Lisa - SouthRonaldsay.net < http://www.southronaldsay.net/ > email < [email protected] > For Guidelines on how to contribute, < http://www.southronaldsay.net/1821/notes/photoguidelines_n.html >

Is this a "free" site, or must one pay? TIA Marybeth Corrigall ================================ In a message dated 10/27/05 6:00:33 PM, [email protected] writes: << This came in the emailbox today: 1861 Census now online We are delighted to announce that, in addition to the 1871, '81, '91 and 1901 census records, the indexes and images for the 1861 Census for Scotland are now available online at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. ScotlandsPeople >>

This came in the emailbox today: 1861 Census now online We are delighted to announce that, in addition to the 1871, '81, '91 and 1901 census records, the indexes and images for the 1861 Census for Scotland are now available online at www.scotlandspeople.gov.uk. ScotlandsPeople

I suppose I have walked into this. WPL Thomson in his History of Orkney (1987 p234) answers your query in 23 words: "Balfour's eviction of Seccession Church elders who had the audacity to croticise the "promiscuous dancing" permitted at the laird's 'muckle supper' or harvest-home." But this only addresses one aspect of the affair. A slightly longer precis of Sutherland's paper could be: In 1846 David Balfour, the new paternalistic laird of Shapinsay, gave his tenants a harvest-home dance, but the elders of the island's Secession Kirk subsequently admonished 4 men and 5 women who had danced with members of the opposite sex, ostensibly because this 'sin' had led to divine providence causing the blight of the potato crop, but probably provoked by the elders' apprehension of the laird's growing influence over members of their congregation. The laird's ambitious factor, Marcus Calder, interpreted the elders' action as an insult to his employer, who had subsequently gone overseas, and persuaded the laird to have notices of eviction served to the nine elders. Of these, five eventually apologised to the laird but four were evicted and left the island in 1847, of whom one, William Skethaway, migrated to Adelaide. However I suggest this website is not an appropriate forum to discuss the many issues arising from this very complex affair! ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lisa Conrad" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 10:07 PM Subject: Re: [Orkney] Re: Muckle Harvest Affair I have never heard of this - is there a way anyone can just give the rest of us Listers a brief idea of what this was about?? Twenty words or less?! :-) Lisa {> on 10/25/05 12:43 PM <} James Irvine wrote -- Paul Sutherland wrote an excellent 38 page Dissertation on the 1847 Muckle Supper in 1985: "The Laird, the Factor and the Elders". It was not published, but the Orkney Room has a copy (Y941.08) and I'm sure would do you a copy at 15p/sheet, plus £5 p&p (maybe more for overseas). ----- Original Message ----- From: "Malcolm" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 3:52 AM Subject: Muckle Harvest Affair > Hi listers, > I am hoping somebody may be able to help with info on the Muckle Harvest > affair of 1847. Some of our family members where involved in this and in a > few cases proved to be the reason why some family members came to South > Australia. ______________________________

Lisa, The Muckle Supper. When Balfour Castle was being built David Balfour and his wife decided to visit Italy to obtain works of art fit to adorn their stately home. Before leaving they entertained their tenants and servants at a Harvest Home Dance, a traditional gesture of social harmony which had unforseen citcumstances. The elders of the Secession Kirk, intoxicated by the religious revival, disturbed by the transfiguration of their island, believing the outbreak of potato blight to be a sign of divine displeasure, felt that they must discipline the members of their congregation who had danced at the Laird's Muckle Supper. Possibly the elders were emboldened by the absence of David Balfour or relied on his known benevolence: if so they reckoned without his very determined advisers, Calder believing it necessary for his own sake to crush any potential opposition, treated the condemnation as an insult to the Laird and insisted that the elders must apologise if they wanted their leases renewed. Despite the intervention of the Rev Robert Paterson of Kirkwall; the greatest preacher and champion of the Sececssion Church in Orkney, David Balfour followed the advice of his factor and his solicitor with the result that four unrepentant elders had to leave Shapinsay. The four who left the island were Peter Peace, his son William Balfour Peace, William Skethaway and William Work. The triumph made David Balfour master in his own island, laird of everything and everybody that he surveyed from his dominating castle. He continued for the next 40 years to play the part of the caring laird. Thanks to David Balfour Shapinsay today has very straight roads and green fields. It is a low lying green island with fertile soil and breeds some of the best cattle in the country. There are many websites on Balfour Castle and on Shapinsay. The Shapinsay Harvest Home is still held every year and we usually go over to Shapinsay to attend it as I was born on Shapinsay. This year it will be held on the 4th November. However, we will not be able to attend it as the date was changed at short notice. George Gray, Orkney ----- Original Message ----- From: "Lisa Conrad" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]rootsweb.com> Sent: Tuesday, October 25, 2005 10:07 PM Subject: Re: [Orkney] Re: Muckle Harvest Affair I have never heard of this - is there a way anyone can just give the rest of us Listers a brief idea of what this was about?? Twenty words or less?! :-) Lisa {> on 10/25/05 12:43 PM <} James Irvine wrote -- Paul Sutherland wrote an excellent 38 page Dissertation on the 1847 Muckle Supper in 1985: "The Laird, the Factor and the Elders". It was not published, but the Orkney Room has a copy (Y941.08) and I'm sure would do you a copy at 15p/sheet, plus £5 p&p (maybe more for overseas). ----- Original Message ----- From: "Malcolm" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 3:52 AM Subject: Muckle Harvest Affair > Hi listers, > I am hoping somebody may be able to help with info on the Muckle Harvest > affair of 1847. Some of our family members where involved in this and in a > few cases proved to be the reason why some family members came to South > Australia. ==== ORKNEY Mailing List ==== >>>>TIP: To search the archives of this list go to >>>>http://listsearches.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/listsearch.pl?list=ORKNEY on >>>>the next page enter your search word(s) and select the year click the >>>>submit query button<<<< ============================== New! Family Tree Maker 2005. Build your tree and search for your ancestors at the same time. Share your tree with family and friends. Learn more: http://landing.ancestry.com/familytreemaker/2005/tour.aspx?sourceid=14599&targetid=5429

Wow! What a story -- thank you very much, George! Lisa ------------ {> on 10/26/05 2:25 PM <} George Gray wrote -- Lisa, The Muckle Supper. [ . . . ]

Hello- Apologies for this request which is off-topic: Am going to Westray & Papay in mid-March/06- flying this time from Glasgow to Kirkwall to save time We have to spend 2 nights-1 each way-in Glasgow. Wondering if anyone can recommend a B & B close to airport . Please respond off list. Thanks. Cheers Thompson in PEI, Canada -- No virus found in this outgoing message. Checked by AVG Free Edition. Version: 7.1.361 / Virus Database: 267.12.4/146 - Release Date: 10/21/2005

Paul Sutherland wrote an excellent 38 page Dissertation on the 1847 Muckle Supper in 1985: "The Laird, the Factor and the Elders". It was not published, but the Orkney Room has a copy (Y941.08) and I'm sure would do you a copy at 15p/sheet, plus £5 p&p (maybe more for overseas). ----- Original Message ----- From: "Malcolm" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 3:52 AM Subject: Muckle Harvest Affair > Hi listers, > I am hoping somebody may be able to help with info on the Muckle Harvest > affair of 1847. Some of our family members where involved in this and in a > few cases proved to be the reason why some family members came to South > Australia. Any information would be greatly appreciated. As we don't seem > to be able to find anything on the internet. > > Regards, > Anne & Malcolm > In rainy Sydney. >

I have never heard of this - is there a way anyone can just give the rest of us Listers a brief idea of what this was about?? Twenty words or less?! :-) Lisa {> on 10/25/05 12:43 PM <} James Irvine wrote -- Paul Sutherland wrote an excellent 38 page Dissertation on the 1847 Muckle Supper in 1985: "The Laird, the Factor and the Elders". It was not published, but the Orkney Room has a copy (Y941.08) and I'm sure would do you a copy at 15p/sheet, plus £5 p&p (maybe more for overseas). ----- Original Message ----- From: "Malcolm" <[email protected]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2005 3:52 AM Subject: Muckle Harvest Affair > Hi listers, > I am hoping somebody may be able to help with info on the Muckle Harvest > affair of 1847. Some of our family members where involved in this and in a > few cases proved to be the reason why some family members came to South > Australia.

I recently ran across the following, in the book "Vanishing British Columbia" by Michael Kluckner (UBC Press, Vancouver, www.ubcpress.ca; ISBN 0-7748-1125-0; published 2005), about early settlers on Denman Island, off the coast of British Columbia, near Vancouver. Mention is made of descendants still in the area, and photographs are included of some family groups in the early 1900s. "Of the historic places, Orkney Farm evokes the pastoral west coast - a paradise of mild bright winters and dry summers - as well as any surviving landscape. Besides the barn, outbuildings, hedgerows, old shade trees and hay meadows, there is an orchard of old-fashioned fruit trees including Bosc pears and apples such as Cox's Orange Pippin and Gravenstein. Today it is a working farm of 76 acres, operated by stewards Marlena and Dale Merrick, still bearing an air of self-sufficiency typical of early British Columbia homesteads. Tom CHALMERS came from the Orkney Islands in 1897 to homestead the land and spent the next three years building the house, completing it in time for the arrival of his fiancee. His brother Jack bought the property to the south and built a similar house and barn, still extant but renovated more than Tom's. Two brothers bought the two houses in 1929; Jack ISBISTER bought Tom's while Tom ISBISTER bought Jack's. The father of Tom Isbister's wife, William BAIKIE, had arrived on Denman in 1888 and like Tom Chalmers bought part of the early preemption of Charles McFarlan. Isbister logged, established an apple orchard, and continued shipping milk and cream to Comox until the 1960s, when he switched to beef ." Anyone see a connection? Please visit my transcriptions of records for 30 Kirkwall area families in the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries, on the Orkney Family History Society members' page at www.orkneyfhs.co.uk Ken Harrison North Vancouver, Canada Unless specifically stated otherwise in this message, there is no intentional attachment on this e-mail transmission.

> Thu, 20 Oct 2005 21:52:03 +0100 > From: "MARION MCLEOD" <[email protected]> > To: [email protected] > Subject: Re: [Orkney] Getting started in Orkney > > Hi Norman > > I have come across reference to Hill Head in Holm too but it was actually > the Hill Head in St Ola. Could the St Ola and Holm boundary have changed > over the years? > > Marion > Web pages at www.btinternet.com/~marion.mcleod > http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/c/l/Marion-A-Mcleod > www.photobox.co.uk/[email protected] This is a very interesting question to me, since I have found a baptism in my family which indicates that a birth took place in 1702 in Holm parish but there was no known (to me) family residence or connection there. However, there was a very strong connection to St. Ola (specifically, Scapa and Kirkwall). Maybe by the time I catch up on the rest of my Digests I will find the answer already posted ..... Please visit my transcriptions of records for 30 Kirkwall area families in the 17th, 18th and 19th Centuries, on the Orkney Family History Society members' page at www.orkneyfhs.co.uk Ken Harrison North Vancouver, Canada Unless specifically stated otherwise in this message, there is no intentional attachment on this e-mail transmission.

MARION MCLEOD wrote: > sorry - also > http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/PETRIE-SCOTLAND/2002-05/1022433522 > mentions Hillhead in Holm. > Hi Marion, I take it that the Hillhead mentioned in the "Orcadian" article and on "The Modern Antiquarian" page both refer to the Hillhead in St Ola just outside Kirkwall. Incidentally, I don't think that whoever wrote "The Modern Antiquarian" piece is too good at Ordnance Survey grid references. I'd prefer HY447084 as a 6-figure reference for Hillhead. As for the Rootsweb article mentioning Hillhead in Holm that you link to above, yes, I did quote that and give a link to it in an earlier reply to you via this mailing list on Thursday. Maybe that message got lost somewhere in the ether and you didn't see it, though. I think I'll wait now until someone comes up with more definite information. :) Regards, Norman Tulloch

sorry - also http://archiver.rootsweb.com/th/read/PETRIE-SCOTLAND/2002-05/1022433522 mentions Hillhead in Holm. Marion Web pages at www.btinternet.com/~marion.mcleod http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/c/l/Marion-A-Mcleod www.photobox.co.uk/[email protected]

See - http://www.orcadian.co.uk/features/articles/motoringhistory.htm http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/site/7018 [scroll down to Miscellaneous section] Marion Web pages at www.btinternet.com/~marion.mcleod http://familytreemaker.genealogy.com/users/m/c/l/Marion-A-Mcleod www.photobox.co.uk/[email protected]

Jane Ward wrote: > Hi all, > I've found the discussion of Hill Head quite > interesting, but does anyone know how to get into the > Ordinance site? I did it by accident once, but I can't > figure out what I did. > The census records for 1881 show a Brown family with > James as head, and an 82 year old Alexander as part of > the family living at Braehead. Is that in the > vicinity of the Hill Head you have been discussing, > near St. Olga? Jane, The Hillhead, St Ola (not St Olga, by the way :-)) we've been talking about and Braehead, Holm are different places. However, as you'll probably realise, the names mean the same since "Brae" is Scots for "hill". The two places are roughly ten miles apart. You can see Braehead, Holm on these maps: http://tinyurl.com/closc http://tinyurl.com/7dgp4 The Ordnance Survey site is at http://www.ordnancesurvey.co.uk/oswebsite/ However, I generally use www.streetmap.co.uk since, oddly enough, it's possible to get better Ordnance Survey on-line maps from it than from the Ordnance Survey's own site. Norman Tulloch

Hi Jane, Had a look on Family Search Site for Isabella Ross Brown with the birth date you gave and this is what I found, hope it helps, I have no connection to any of these Browns, just helping a fellow researcher. Alexander Brown married Ann Donaldson 19th June 1851 in Old Machar, Aberdeen Children -- Ann b 26th Dec. 1851 Mary b 26th Sept. 1853 Alexander b 2nd July 1855 James b 27th Dec. 1856 Alexander b 5th Mar. 1859 Isabella Ross Brown b 23rd Mar. 1861 all in St Nicholas, Aberdeen Good Luck Cathy In a message dated 22/10/2005 02:24:48 GMT Standard Time, [email protected] writes: Hi all, I've found the discussion of Hill Head quite interesting, but does anyone know how to get into the Ordinance site? I did it by accident once, but I can't figure out what I did. The census records for 1881 show a Brown family with James as head, and an 82 year old Alexander as part of the family living at Braehead. Is that in the vicinity of the Hill Head you have been discussing, near St. Olga? It could be the family I'm looking for, the names and ages fit if my great-grandmother Isabella was mistaken, and her father was Alexander Brown, as it says on her birth certificate. Thank you, Jane

Do you mean the 1881 Ordinance map site? It is at http://www.old-maps.co.uk/ Mike Bostwick

Hi all, I've found the discussion of Hill Head quite interesting, but does anyone know how to get into the Ordinance site? I did it by accident once, but I can't figure out what I did. The census records for 1881 show a Brown family with James as head, and an 82 year old Alexander as part of the family living at Braehead. Is that in the vicinity of the Hill Head you have been discussing, near St. Olga? It could be the family I'm looking for, the names and ages fit if my great-grandmother Isabella was mistaken, and her father was Alexander Brown, as it says on her birth certificate. Thank you, Jane __________________________________ Yahoo! FareChase: Search multiple travel sites in one click. http://farechase.yahoo.com